Swanson has lived and worked (the piece doesn't say for whom) in
northern Sweden for years. Though I haven't visited the north, my sister
and I did ride the train across southern Norway and Sweden to Oslo and
back. We were impressed by the forests, but not so much as Swanson.

Pacific Northwest natives, we were reminded of home as we approached the
vast Scandinavian timberlands. Once we got closer, the view became
eerily unsettling.

"Harvesting of forest resources in Sweden is as common as farming in the
Willamette Valley," Swanson writes, and I believe it. The forests we
passed through for hours on end looked like farms, not woods. We saw
miles and miles of trees planted in neat geometric arrays, virtually
bare of underbrush and wildlife. We saw no mixing of tree species, just
millions of what could have been identical clones.

"Certainly it can be done successfully in Oregon and to the benefit of
all parts of a healthy, sustainable society," Swanson concludes.

But if it doesn't also preserve our healthy, sustainable, wild ecosystems, I would hate to see it here.